Business Planning Worksheets

Table of Contents Introductory Section... 1 Cover Sheet... 1 Executive Summary... 1 Narrative Section... 2 Description of the Business... 2 The Market... 3 Competition... 3 Location of the Business... 4 Management... 4 Personnel... 5 Application and the Expected Effect of Loan or Investment... 5 Financial Schedules... 6 Financial Schedule Assumptions... 6 Schedule A - Sources and Uses of Funds... 7 Schedule B - Equipment... 8 Schedule D Pro-Forma Income Statement: 1 st Year, Average Month... 9 Supporting Documents... 10 Information and Forms Checklist... 10 Personal Financial Statement... 11

INTRODUCTORY SECTION The introductory section of the business plan includes a cover sheet and an executive summary. Cover Sheet The business plan cover sheet will include the name, address, and phone number of the business. It will also include: the name(s), address(es), and phone number(s) of principal(s) in the business. In addition, include the approximate date the plan was created. Executive Summary The business plan executive summary will, in concise terms, abridge the missions or objectives of the company and the purpose of the business plan. The executive summary should be written last after the entire plan is complete. 1

NARRATIVE SECTION The narrative section of the business plan includes: a description of the business, the market, the competition, the location of the business, the management and personnel, and the application and expected effect of the loan or investment. Description of the Business Objective: To acquaint the reader with the business. Questions: For an existing business: 1. When did your business open? 2. What hours of the day and days of the week are you in operation? 3. Business form: sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation? 4. Type of business: primarily merchandising, manufacturing or service? 5. What is the nature of the product(s) or service(s)? 6. Is this an expansion or refinancing plan? Why? 7. Why is your business going to be profitable after this expansion or refinancing? 8. When does your fiscal year end (if other than December 31)? For a new business, skip questions 1, 6, 7 & 8 and answer these additional questions: 9. Why will you become successful in this business? 10. Have you spoken with other people in this kind of business? What was their response? 11. What will be special about your business? 12. Have you spoken with prospective trade suppliers? What managerial and/or technical he3lp will they provide? 13. Have you asked about trade credit? Is it available? For a take-over, answer these additional questions: 14. When and by whom was the business founded? 15. Why is the owner selling it? 16. How did you arrive at a purchase price for the business? 17. What is the trend of sales? 18. If the business is going downhill, why? How can you turn it around? 19. How will your management make the business more profitable? 2

The Market Objective: To explain who needs your product or service, and why. Questions: 1. Who, exactly, is your market? Describe characteristics (age, gender, profession, income, etc.) of your various segments. 2. What is the present size of the market? 3. What percent of the market will you have? 4. What is the growth potential of this market? 5. As the market grows, does your share increase or decrease? 6. How are you going to satisfy your market? 7. How will you attract and keep this market? 8. How can you expand your market? 9. How are you going to price your service, product, or merchandise to make a fair profit, and at the same time be competitive? 10. How did you arrive at the price? 11. Is the price competitive? How do you know? 12. Why will someone pay your price? 13. What special advantages do you offer that may justify a higher price? (You don t necessarily have to engage in direct price competition.) 14. Will you offer credit to your customers (accounts receivable)? If so, is this really necessary? Can you afford to extend credit? Can you afford bad debts? 15. If you will be doing any contract work, what are the terms? Reference any firm contract and include it as a supporting document. 16. Do you have letters of intent from prospective customers? Competition Objective: To give an unbiased evaluation of your competitors. Questions: 1. Who are your five nearest competitors? (List them by name.) 2. How will your operation be better than theirs? 3. How are their businesses doing? Are they steady? Increasing? Decreasing? Why? 4. How are their operations similar and dissimilar to yours? 5. What are their strengths and/or weaknesses? 6. What have you learned from watching their operations? 7. How are they accepted in the marketplace? 8. How do you intend to compete? 3

Location of the Business Objective: To explain why the location is the best available at the time for your purposes. Questions: 1. What is your business address? 2. What are the physical features of your building? 3. Is your building leased or owned? (State the terms.) 4. If renovations are needed, what are they? What is the expected cost? (Get quotes in WRITING from more than one contractor. Include quotes as supporting documents.) 5. What is the neighborhood like stable, changing, improving, deteriorating? Are there other special permits or licenses you may need? 6. Does the zoning permit your kind of business? (Call the city planning department.) 7. What kind of businesses are in the area? 8. Have you considered other areas? 9. Why is this the right building and location for your business? 10. How does this location affect your operating cost? Management Objective: To identify your management strengths and explain management organization. Questions: 1. What is your business background? 2. What management experience have you had? 3. What education have you had (including both formal and informal learning experiences) which have bearing on your managerial abilities. 4. Personal data: age, where you live and have lived, special abilities and interests, reasons for going into business? 5. Are you physically suited to the job? (Stamina counts.) 6. Do you have direct operational experience in this type of business? 7. Do you have managerial experience in this type of business? 8. Do you have managerial experience acquired elsewhere whether in totally different kinds of businesses, or as an offshoot of club or team membership, civic or church work, etc? 9. Who does what? Who reports to whom? Who makes final decisions? 10. What will management be paid? 11. What other resources will be available accountant, lawyer, SBDC, etc. Note: A personal financial statement must be included as a supporting document in your plan if it is a proposal for financing. Include your resume as a supporting document. 4

Personnel Objective: To present your personnel needs, both near and long term, and evaluate their costs. Questions: 1. What are your personnel needs now? In the near future? In five years? 2. What skills must they have? 3. Are the people you need available? 4. Will your employees be full-time or part-time? 5. Will you provide salaries or hourly wages? 6. Will you provide fringe benefits? If so, what? 7. Will you utilize overtime? 8. Will you have to train people? If so, at what cost to the business (consider both trainer and trainees salaries and expenses)? Application and the Expected Effect of Loan or Investment Objective: To explain how funds will be used and how they will help your business get started or be more profitable. Questions: 1. What are you asking for? (Loan or investment?) 2. How is the loan or investment to be spent? This can be fairly general (working capital, new equipment, inventory, supplies, etc.) (See Schedule A.) 3. What item or items will be purchases (general description refer to Schedule B). 4. Who is/are the supplier(s)? 5. How will the loan or investment (your own or others) make your business more profitable? (Explain any new initiatives, products or services that will be made possible by the loan or investments.) 6. How soon and to what extent will the funds effect profitability. 7. How much are you investing and for what will it be used? 5

FINANCIAL SCHEDULES The financial schedules of the business plan include: financial schedule assumptions, sources and uses of funds, capital asset purchases, balance sheet, accounts payable, long term liabilities, pro-forma income statements, breakeven analysis, and a pro-forma cash flow statement. Financial Schedule Assumptions Objective: To identify the basic assumptions you used in preparing the financial schedules. Schedule A Questions: 1. What amount of collateral is presently owned and what amount will be purchased? 2. How did you determine loan value of collateral? 3. Identify sources of Personal Equity Investment. 4. Identify sources of Outside Equity Investment. 5. How was amount of working capital determined? 6. How was amount of line of credit determined? 7. What is the rate of interest and period of repayment? Schedule D Questions: 1. On what basis did you estimate sales? 2. On what basis did you estimate labor and materials? 3. On what basis did you estimate major operating expense items? Schedule E and F Question: 1. On what basis did you estimate sales increases for 2 nd and 3 rd years? Schedule I Question: 1. On what basis did you estimate the percentage of each month s charge sales (accounts receivable) collected in subsequent month? Example: January charge sales were $10,000. What percent will you collect in February, March, or later? (Hopefully you will collect 100% in February.) 6

Schedule A - Sources and Uses of Funds Owners Contribution Bank Loan Other Loans Total 1. Cash 1. Receivables 2. Inventory 3. Supplies 5. Prepaid Expenses Total Working Capital 6. Fixtures 7. Vehicles 8. Equipment 9. Leasehold Improvements 10. Buildings 11. Land Total Fixed Assets Total Equity Contribution Total Debt Requested Total Project 7

Schedule B - Equipment MAJOR EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES MODEL COST MINOR EQUIPMENT TOTAL: OTHER PURCHASES TOTAL: $ TOTAL: $ TOTAL: $ 8

Schedule D Pro-Forma Income Statement: 1 st Year, Average Month Projections Year: Average Projection 1 SALES 2 COST OF GOODS SOLD 3 Labor 4 Materials 5 TOTAL (Line 3 + 4) 6 GROSS PROFIT (Line 1-5) OPERATING EXPENSES: 7 Advertising & Promotion 8 Auto Expense 9 Depreciation 10 General Office Administration 11 Insurance 12 Interest 13 Legal & Accounting 14 Operating Supplies 15 Salaries & Wages 16 Payroll Taxes 17 Rent 18 Repairs & Maintenance 19 Taxes & Licenses 20 Telephone & Utilities 25 TOTAL OP. EXP. (Lines 7--24) 26 PROF (LOSS) PRE-TAX (Line 6-25) 27 TAXES (Line 26 X Rate) 28 NET PROFIT (LOSS) (Line 26-27) 9

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS The supporting documents of the business plan includes: personal resumes, job descriptions, personal financial statements, credit reports, letters of reference, letters of intent, copies of leases, contracts, legal documents, and anything else of relevance to the plan. Information and Forms Checklist You may need to include these items in your Supporting Documents: Business Certificates D.B.A. (Doing Business As) Certificate Partnership Certificate Corporate Resolution Certification of Officers References/Letters of Reference Contractors Used (list names, addresses, and telephone numbers) Copies of Leases Financial Statements for Prior Three Years Balance Sheet Income Statement Statement of Changes in Financial Position (if readily available) Statement of Changes of Stockholder Equity (if readily available) Statement of Retained Earnings (if readily available) Accounts Receivable Aging Reports (most recent) Personal Financial Statements of Proprietor Partners Guarantors Stockholders Other Obligations Operating Statements for Buildings Owned or Managed by Borrower(s) Individual Tax Returns for Prior Three Years Company Tax Returns for Prior Three Years Other: 10

Personal Financial Statement As of (date): Complete this form if 1) a sole proprietor; 2) a partnership by each partner; 3) a corporation by each officer and each stockholder with 20% or more ownership; 4) any other person or entity providing a guaranty on the loan. Name: Residence Phone: Residence Address: City, State & Zip: Business Name of Applicant/Borrower: Assets (Omit Cents) Liabilities (Omit Cents) Cash on Hand & in Banks $ Accounts Payable $ Savings Accounts Notes Payable (to Bank & Others) IRA (Describe in Section 2) Accounts & Notes Receivable (Describe in Section 6) Loans on Life Insurance Mortgages on Real Estate Life Insurance Cash Surrender Value Only (Describe in Section 4) Stocks & Bonds (Describe in Section 3) Unpaid Taxes (Describe in Section 7) Real Estate (Describe in Section 4) Other Liabilities (Describe in Section 8) Automobile Present Value Other Personal Property Total Liabilities $ (Describe in Section 5) Other Assets (Describe in Section 6) Net Worth $ Total $ Total (Liabilities & Net Worth) $ Section 1. Source of Income Contingent Liabilities Salary $ As Endorser or Co-Maker $ Net Investment Income Real Estate Income Other Income (Describe) Legal Claims & Judgments Provisions for Federal Income Tax Other Special Debt Description of Items listed in Section 1 *(Alimony or child support payments need not be disclosed in Other Income unless it is desired to have such payments counted toward total income.) Section 2. Notes Payable to Banks and Others Name & Address of Note Holder Original Balance Current Balance Payment Amount Terms (Monthly, etc.) How Secured or Endorsed Type of Collateral 11

Section 3. Stocks and Bonds (Use separate sheet if necessary.) Face Value Bonds No. Stock Shares Description of Security Registered in Name of Cost Present Market Value Income Received Last Year If Pledged State to Whom Section 4. Real Estate Owned (List each parcel separately. Use supplemental sheets if necessary. Each sheet must be identified as a supplement to this statement and signed.) Description or Street No. Dimensions or Acres Improvements Consist of Mortgages or Liens Due Dates & Amount of Pmts Assessed Value Present Market Value Unpaid Taxes Year Amount Section 5. Other Personal Property (Describe, and if any is mortgaged, state name and address of mortgage holder and amount of mortgage, terms of payment and if delinquent, describe delinquency.) Section 6. Other Assets, notes & Accounts Receivable (Describe) Section 7. Unpaid Taxes (Describe in detail, as to type, to whom payable, when due, amount, and what, if any, property the tax lien attaches.) Section 8. Other Liabilities (Describe in detail.) Section 9. Life Insurance Held (Give face amount of policies, name of company, and beneficiaries.) Lender is authorized to make all inquiries deemed necessary to verify the accuracy of the statements made herein and to determine my/our credit worthiness. (I) or (We) certify the above and the statements contained in the scheduled herein are true and accurate statements of (my) or (our) financial condition as of the date stated herein. Signature Signature Date Social Security Number Social Security Number Date 12